Not Enough Macho In The World
by ambitiousbutrubbish
Summary: Dean doesn't like to be picked up. Castiel doesn't really seem to mind. Sam seriously wonders who it was he pissed off in a previous life (probably God). Dean/Castiel except not really because they're three years old (de-aged fic).


**A/N:** So I saw bluesilktie's gorgeous piece of art (post/85069217464/here-sfor-you-whats-this-dean-a-rock) and every single fiber of my being screamed BABIES! and then I wrote this in like 10 minutes.

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Sam isn't surprised that Dean doesn't like to be picked up. The first time he tried, Dean had stuck a finger in his eye and whined about not being a baby and Sam put him down again quickly. He'd then told Dean that he was three years old and very much a baby, and Dean had looked up at him with his bottom lip sticking out and his overly large eyes brimming with unshed tears and Sam didn't know what to do except to bury his face in his hands and hope that when he opened them again everything would be back to normal.

He is surprised that Castiel doesn't seem to mind. It's not that he asks for it or anything, but he doesn't complain when Sam lifts him up, and he doesn't demand to be put back down, either. The thing is, Sam didn't think Cas particularly liked to be touched, or at least he never really acknowledged it or reacted to it when people did, so he finds his easy acquiescence to being manhandled now confusing, to say the least.

He'd asked Cas about it, the third time he'd hoisted him up off the ground. He'd wondered if maybe Cas' new tiny human body was maybe affecting more than he'd thought. But Castiel had simply stared at Sam with that look that reminded him that Cas was an immortal being with knowledge of the cosmos and he was just a dumb human by comparison, before calmly informing him that it was simply easier for the two of them to converse when they were at eye level. Sam felt kind of like an idiot for not realising that on his own, but to be fair, he was still kind of bewildered by the whole situation.

The problem was that when Sam picked up Cas so they could discuss how to return Dean and Castiel's vessel to their right ages, then Dean changed his mind and tried to scramble up Sam's leg. And that was where the real trouble started.

Because ever since Cas had turned up at the door of Sam and Dean's hotel room, suddenly at knee height with a three year old Dean in tow clinging to his left hand and staring shyly at the ground, Dean has spent the entire time trying to get nearer to Castiel. Which, admittedly, isn't all that different from normal, no matter how much Dean would deny it. No, what as new was the gifts.

Mostly it was just small things. Sometimes when the three of them went out to eat Dean would wander off and then come back with trinkets he'd found outside clutched in his tiny fists. Generally it was things like feathers or small rocks, which he'd then proceed to present to Cas with a bright red face, and without actually looking at him. Castiel looks extremely perplexed every time this happens, but he always accepts the gifts graciously and with a very clear "thank you, Dean."

One time Dean returns with nothing, and looks positively distraught when he plonks down next to Castiel at the diner booth. Cas and Sam are finally making headway with the spell that started all this and are deep in conversation when Dean suddenly screws up his face in a look of determination and then leans over and presses a tiny, childish peck to Cas' cheek. Castiel is so surprised by the action that he stops talking mid sentence and just kind of sits there, eyes wide and unblinking. Dean throws himself away from Cas and buries his face in the cushion covering the booth seat, tucking his legs up underneath him until he looks like a little plaid-patterned ball. Sam has to excuse himself to the bathroom to just laugh for a minute and a half straight. He'd never say anything to Dean right now because he'd just pout up at him and Sam would feel kind of guilty, but this whole situation is unbearable adorable. He's saving up all his teasing for when he and Cas figure out how to lift the curse.

So the thing is, that when Sam picks Cas up, then Dean wants to be picked up too because he doesn't like being so far away from Castiel when he isn't out looking for stuff to give to him. And it's not like that in itself is an issue. Cas is a little big for a three year old kid, but Dean is actually on the small side as if to compensate and Sam works out, alright, he can lift two small children, no sweat. The problem is that once Dean's up there he can't seem to sit still. He squirms like he'd squirmed the one, or maybe two, times Sam had coated the inside of Dean's pants with itching power. He reaches up for Sam's face, pokes at him with his tiny fingers and pulls his hair surprisingly hard. He reaches out for Castiel, too, and Sam had been afraid that he'd drop his brother, but Cas lets Dean hold his hand while he talks to Sam and they haven't really tested the extent of Cas' powers while he's in this body, but Sam is positive that Cas wouldn't let Dean fall no matter if they were limited. He'd jump down to the ground first to soften Dean's impact.

Sam is pretty excited to return Castiel and Dean to their normal, adult human bodies. He has days worth of accumulated blushes and hand holding to never, ever let his brother live down. He's also kind of intrigued to see if Dean will finally admit to the feelings he has for Cas that apparently his toddler self has not learned to repress. Sam plans on locking the two of them in a bathroom or something together as soon as he gets the chance.

But also, he can't help but feel something as he stands there, Castiel perched on one arm and Dean half crushed against his side under the other. Something warm in his chest, something that makes his face break out in an uncontrollable grin and Cas keeps talking, but he looks incredibly confused.

This is the happiest Sam has felt in a long time.


End file.
